Public school systems in Virginia and the District of Columbia would be better equipped to use student data to fire lousy teachers if the jurisdictions win their hoped-for share of federal education dollars.

Both included that promise in exhaustive applications turned in Tuesday for a share of $4 billion in Race to the Top funds. About 40 states and the District will compete for the money, designed to drive new ideas to improve public education, but feared by some as a federal intrusion upon states’ rights.

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